A Heron Visitor

October 5, 2018

Last week we had a surprise visitor in our pool area. It was an immature Great Blue Heron (Blue form). This very large and tall bird, with a very long neck dropped into the pool area mistakenly thinking it would be a good place to search for food. Unfortunately our pool offers little nourishment for hungry young herons. After thinking about it for a number of minutes, it flew off to the nearby retention ponds.

The video is rather long, but I found it interesting watching this young wading bird move its long, lanky neck. Watch the last 90 seconds as it finally decides the water has nothing to offer and flies away.

Since the City of Appleton has begun constructing retention ponds resembling actual wetlands areas, we often see Great Egrets and Sandhill Cranes in our neighborhoods. Turkeys like to nest in the adjacent prairie plantings. Because of our proximity to the Fox River, Bald Eagles and Turkey Buzzards often circle overhead catching the air streams. We are fortunate to live in such a wildlife friendly neighborhood.